If you're a new artist, practice your art and share it. Set up shop somewhere, whether it's a street corner or a coffee shop. I got my start in a coffee shop that didn't even have live music. I wanted to play in coffee shops that did have live music, but I didn't have an audience.

I've got something to live for, because I always wanted to be an artist; I always wanted to be famous.

I called Jermaine [Dupri, artist/producer and head of black music at Virgin], and it was on.

It has been amazing to see how Trent has grown as a music artist, his lyrics have taken on a new meaning now because they are so real. I think, like a lot of artists, in the early stages he spent time questioning what he was supposed to be and when he found that what he was looking for was what he had always known, himself, it was a turning point.

Let's let the music be the star again. Let the artist be the star again.

I'm one of those getting back into music; I call myself a reemerging artist.